This video has been doing the rounds in the UK and beyond this week. After being sent on what was planned to be a seven week deployment to exercise in the Med, HMS Ocean and her crew found themselves involved in the war against Colonel Gadaffi. The ship is due to return to Plymouth tomorrow after seven months away – a long time in modern naval deployments – just in time for christmas. Apparently even Mariah Carey herself has given her blessing via Twitter!

I think she is slightly bigger. And there seems less ‘cluttering up’ of the deck than on the Invincibles. She certainly looks a lot bigger than she is. Sadly I’ve never seen her up close or gone onboard, she hasn’t been to Portsmouth for years.

Apparently she’s not in great nick behind the scenes, a friend of a friend of a friend reckons there are big welding patches and gaps where internal sections have come away… not sure how true it is, but she was built to commercial standards and has been worked pretty hard during her lifetime…

You are missing out. Though a visit oboard leaves you wondering about what could have been. An LPH built to military standards with speed comparable to an American amphib. A companion ship so the UK could have fielded to mini-ARGs (one LPH, one LPD, 2 x Bays)

She is nearly worn out. Apparently she sailed for good while with hydraulics for the aft ramp not working.

If anything she has proved we need 2 LPHs with a full compliment of modern Junglies.

A latter day Albion and Bulwark, so to speak? I see where you’re coming from. I still think the idead of three or four LPH around Wasp size, with stern dock and ski ramp would have been ideal for our needs. Flexible, able to rotate between strtike carrier and amphib.

I bounce between the two. Sometimes I think a LHD would be a good idea. Indeed for a while I thought 3 x USS Makin Islands would be preferable to 2 x CVF as we had Daring in the pipeline (back when we were getting 12) and already had a first class trooping helicopter in Merlin. There would have been enough space for an ASaC flight too which is probably more vital than having FJ. And I am greatly enamoured with the Juan Carlos.

But then I flip the other way and become convinced they are a compromise in anything under 30k t. Mainly because I not always convinced about the viability of helicopter warfare and we need as much dock space as possible. Especially now we have these new surface effect LC on the horizon.

Strikes me as the old “neither fish nor fowl”. Not sure the cost and complication is really worth the payout. It’ll be interesting to keep track of its’ testing and development, though. Thanks for the link, X!

Are those ladies in that video (especially the first one with the wrench…er…spanner) representative of the females serving in the RN?
If so, where do I sign up? 8O:D
Sorry, most of the female USN personnel I’ve run across look more like the gent with the Union Jack wrapped around him. :(

All joking aside, you see more than your fair share of attractive female RN ratings. But the best Navy I have seen for photogenic female ratings has to be the Danish. At Navy Days 2008 they brought over a patrol ship, and it seemed like half of the crew were tall, blonde haired blue eyed ladies. They were definitely at the front when the almighty was handing out gene pools to naval ratings!

OMG the Danes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn’t possibly commented. At FOTS 2005 there was one in the Abaslon, well…..

James what do you think of the announcement on female submariners? How long before Jenny Wren is suing the MoD(N) because of birth defects in her new born? Bound to happen. And sadly I wasn’t shocked to find out that the RN had an equalities and discrimination officer…..

Apparently next week the MoD is going to announce that it is letting men join the RAF. Where will it end?

Time will tell, but I wonder if it might be a bridge too far. There were naysayers about letting female ratings go to sea in the 90’s, but apart from a few cases that hasn’t been toooo much of a problem. Subs are a bit more demanding though, so time will tell. I wonder if a trial might have been sensible.

As for the RN and equalities, in the local press there has been a case of a female Warrant Officer suing the Navy for discrimination, as she felt that her decision not to go to sea hindered her career. Errm, Navy? Ships? Sailing? Sea? Am I missing something?

And next it will be appointing fair-minded, tri-service orientated officers to command the RAF. Yeah right.